TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) –One exciting aspect of the Crimson Tide is the fact that they will return all of their wide receivers from last year. This includes receivers that were picked up in the 2013 recruiting class.

“The younger guys I don’t get some much reps with but definitely my older guys and the guys that played with last year. We have great chemistry so hopefully we just keep building off of it,” said starting quarterback AJ McCarron.

Some insiders have questioned the balance of Bama’s offense with the success in the passing game. Looking at the numbers, the Tide had 3,100 yards on the ground and just over 3,000 through the air in 2012.

Wide receiver Christion Jones seems to think the offense will not change, even with the great receiving corp coming back.

“I think that we’re going to be extra balanced even though we brought in all these wide receivers. We’re still going to be balanced. Defenses will still have to be on the edge of when we’re going to run, when we’re going to pass, so it’s going to be very effective this year,” said Jones.

Meanwhile, Kirby Smart and the defense is trying to improve on a season in which they were the number 1 in the country. Smart says they’ve added more explosive guys like Reuben Foster, but the game is still the game.

“Certainly we’ve tried to become more athletic, but we’ll never leave our true motto which is to be bigger and more physical than everybody we play and try to out physical them at the point of attack. Because in every play, there is a point of attack. It may be wider, it may be tighter, but there is a point of attack,” says Smart.

Alabama’s opener is with Virginia Tech. The Hokies found out Monday starting defensive back Antone Exum will not be back from a torn ACL in time for the date with Bama in the Georgia Dome.